The issue was one of several matters discussed during a meeting of the Devonport Local Liaison Committee meeting, held earlier today.

The meeting heard that following a series of crane-related incidents at the dock used to refuel nuclear submarines, several improvements have been made by Babcock, which is contracted to maintain and refuel Royal Navy submarines.

Bill Kings, an inspector from the ONR said: “Although it was a fairly difficult situation earlier on in 2017, we believe that now the site is in a much better position in terms of cranes and in terms of lifting.”

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Babcock bosses said that the number of overall incidents at the dockyard had drastically fallen by more than 60 per cent between July and December, compared to the previous six months.

The sounding of the nuclear alert siren in Torpoint was also discussed.

Richard Clark, deputy head of safety at the naval base, said the alarm was activated inadvertently due to human error following a maintenance check.

HMS Drake (Image: Plymouth Herald)

The incident subsequently promoted a review into how the control system is operated.

The issue of the disposal of all retired nuclear submarines was raised.

Devonport is now home to 13 retired Royal Navy submarines – some of which were removed from service almost 30 years ago.

A further seven rusting hulks are waiting to be recycled at Rosyth in Scotland, meaning there are a total of 20 Royal Navy submarines awaiting disposal – with seven more due to leave service by the mid 2030s.

The Ministry of Defence's Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) started in December 2016, with the first Royal Navy submarine to enter the programme, HMS Swiftsure, due to be fully dismantled in the early 2020s.

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Gavin Leckie, director of submarine support at Babcock International, which has been contracted to complete the work, said lessons will be learned from the programme before the other submarines are dismantled.

Speaking after the meeting, Cdre Shipperley said submarines at Devonport are subjected to regularly checks and tests and that the risk to members of the public was very small.

“My fundamental responsibility is the commodore of the naval base is to continue to maintain a safe site,” he added.

“Safety is my top priority; the safety of the general public and our workforce.”